1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to load control devices for controlling the amount of power delivered to an electrical load, specifically a dimmer switch that controls the intensity of a lighting load. More particularly, the invention relates to a dimmer switch having a user-accessible switch for adjusting a high-end trim of the dimmer switch.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional wall-mounted load control device is mounted to a standard electrical wall box and is coupled between a source of alternating-current (AC) power (typically 50 or 60 Hz line voltage AC mains) and an electrical load. Standard load control devices, such as dimmers and dimmer switches, use one or more semiconductor switches, typically bidirectional semiconductor switches, such as triacs or field effect transistors (FETs), to control the current delivered to the load, and thus, the intensity of the light provided by the lighting load. The semiconductor switch is typically coupled in series between the source and the lighting load. Using a phase-control dimming technique, the dimmer renders the semiconductor switch conductive for a portion of each line half-cycle to provide power to the lighting load, and renders the semiconductor switch non-conductive for the other portion of the line half-cycle to disconnect power from the load. The ratio of the on-time, during which the semiconductor switch is conductive, to the off-time, during which the semiconductor switch is non-conductive, determines the intensity of the light produced by the lighting load.
Wall-mounted dimmer switches typically include a user interface having a means for adjusting the light intensity of the load, such as a linear slider, a rotary knob, or a rocker switch. Dimmer switches also typically include a button or switch that allows for toggling of the load from off (i.e., no power is conducted to the load) to on (i.e., power is conducted to the load), and vice versa.
Many people desire to save energy. One way to save energy in a dimmer is to adjust the high-end trim of the dimmer to limit the maximum amount of power that the dimmer will deliver to the lighting load. The high-end trim is the maximum amount of power that a dimmer is capable of delivering to a lighting load. The high-end trim is determined by the maximum possible on-time of the semiconductor switch. In contrast, the low-end trim is the minimum amount of power that a dimmer is capable of delivering to a lighting load, when the dimmer is on. The low-end trim is determined by the minimum possible on-time of the semiconductor switch when the semiconductor switch is conducting.
Prior art dimmer switches typically have fixed high-end trims and provide no user-accessible means for a user to be able to change the high-end trim. This is especially true of two-wire analog dimmer switches. There is, therefore, a need for a simple, low-cost, two-wire, analog dimmer having a user-accessible means for selecting a lower high-end trim.